Any Other World
by lauripop-1987
Summary: How are Meredith coping now that they aren't together? Post 4.11


**In any other world  
You could tell the difference  
And let it all unfurl  
Into broken remnants  
Smile like you mean it  
And let yourself let go **

Cause it's all in the hands of a bitter, bitter man  
Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
Take a bow  
Play the part of a lonely, lonely heart  
Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
To the world you thought you lived in

I tried to live alone  
But lonely is so lonely you know  
So human as I am, I had to give up my defences  
So I smiled and tried to mean it  
To let myself let go

Cause it's all in the hands of a bitter, bitter man  
Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
Take a bow  
Play the part of a lonely, lonely heart  
Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
To the world you thought you lived in

Cause it's all in the hands of a bitter, bitter man  
Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
Take a bow  
Play the part of a lonely, lonely heart  
Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
To the world you thought you lived in

Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
Say goodbye  
To the world you thought you lived in  
Say goodbye

In any other world  
You could tell the difference

* * *

Two months... It had been two months since Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey had ended things between them. To some people two months wouldn't feel all that long, but to Meredith it had felt like a lifetime. Two long months of watching the former love of her live with somebody else. Two long months of having to endure the endless gossip between the nurses, gossip that used to be about her. Two long months of wondering if maybe she should've tried harder to make things work with Derek. Two months after walking away from Derek and Meredith was still as hung up on him as ever. Of course she didn't give away any of this to anybody on the outside. To anybody on the outside he was McAss…a jerk, a man who she was better off without…but on the inside Meredith wondered if she would ever be able to move on from the man she once knew as McDreamy. Even as she sat in Joe's nursing her typical shot of tequila, watching Derek laughing with Rose across the room, Rose the scrub nurse who he asked out two months ago, Meredith wondered if she should've tried harder.

Shaking herself out her reverie Meredith finally downed the shot that she'd had in her hand ever since Derek walked in an hour ago and grabbed her things to leave.

Across the room Derek was sat with Rose and was laughing politely at something she had said. If he was truthful he hadn't even been listening to what she was saying but felt it appropriate to laugh when she did. They were out celebrating two months since their first date. It had been Rose's idea; Derek had never celebrated a two month anniversary before. He couldn't honestly believe that it'd already been two months since they'd started going out, or if he looked at it another way two months since he and Meredith had ended things.

Thinking back he had no idea what had possessed him to stand their and watch Meredith walk away from him and then for him to go straight to Rose and ask her out to dinner, but he had and Rose had accepted. The date wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Derek was distracted and couldn't stop thinking about Meredith all night. By the time he dropped Rose off at home and gave her a kiss on the cheek after walking her to her door he'd made up his mind that tomorrow he was going to find Meredith and tell her everything about the date with Rose and how he couldn't keep his mind off of Meredith and how he wasn't ready to just let everything go.

However when the next day came and he managed to get Meredith on her own things didn't go as well as he was hoping they would.

_"Mer, I've been trying to find you all day." Meredith groaned as she heard a voice from the doorway of the residents lounge. It'd been a long day and all she wanted to do was get changed out of her scrubs and go home. _

"Well unluckily for me you found me. What do you want Dr. Shepherd?" her tone of voice was short and clipped and Derek could sense that this wasn't going to go his way.

"Dr. Shepherd? Mer are we really going back to this again?" He paused hoping that she would answer. When she didn't he carried on. "I was trying to find you so that I could apologise about yesterday. I was out of order and very possibly out of my mind for treating you the way I did and for saying the things I did." Still there was no answer from Meredith. "The truth is I don't want to be done with you, I don't want to walk away from us…I want to try again Mer." He looked into her green eyes urging her to say something. Finally she spoke.

"Are you finished Dr. Shepherd?" She asked her tone still short and clipped.

"Yes" Derek answered with a sigh almost dreading what she was going to say next.

"Good." Meredith reached into her bag as she began talking and held out cardboard tube. "I want you to take these back; I'll leave anything else that you've left at my house in your office tomorrow. From now on you are Dr. Shepherd and I am Dr. Grey. I'll have nothing but respect for you professionally but personally I couldn't care less about you or how you feel. It is done, we are over and nothing else you say or do will ever change that." She thrust the tube into Derek's hand and grabbed her bag deciding to leave in her scrubs and get changed at home, she almost ran from the lounge and didn't stop until she reached her car and got in trying, but failing to fight back the tears that were falling down her face.

Back in the residents lounge Derek was sat with his head in hands, the house plans that were contained in the cardboard tube thrown into the nearby bin. 

Thinking back to that day Derek couldn't even remember agreeing to a second date with Rose…yet here they were two months later on their two month anniversary date.

Suddenly Derek felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck and sensed that he was being watched. Turning to face the bar behind him all he saw was an empty barstool and empty shot glass stood on the bar.


End file.
